Despite Positive Job Growth, Many Locals Still Unemployed or Underemployed

Despite greater than anticipated job growth in the private sector during the month of June, some individuals say the report means little for their chances of securing a full-time position equal to work and educational expectations.

On Thursday payroll processing company ADP released a report showing private sector jobs grew by 157,000 jobs in the month of June—more than double what was expected. The ADP report is expected to raise expectations for the government’s monthly employment report, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, the growth of private sector jobs was accompanied by reports that national jobless claims remained relatively unchanged. That means many people in the workforce remain unemployed or underemployed.

“I have to work three jobs hoping to make what I made as a real estate agent,” said Wheaton resident Babette Youngberg.

In Illinois unemployment is at 8.9 percent according to the last report from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, slightly below the national average of 9.1 percent.

Tough economic times has forced some residents of affluent communities like Burr Ridge to rely on food pantry services in order to stay in the community and local organizations to expand their offerings to include job training and utility assistance.

When the real estate market crashed in 2008, Youngberg, 45, was forced to switch careers and chart a new professional course. She began working for an Allstate call center in Woodridge, but that only lasted until 2010 when her department’s responsibilities were switched to a call center in North Carolina. Youngberg, who has a BA in Business Administration, was not in a position to move with the job, so she was forced to look elsewhere. She has since been working with an independent insurance agent, but only part-time. To supplement lost wages she works at a Wal-Mart in Glen Ellyn as well as working as a playground monitor at her children’s school in Wheaton.

“It’s awful out there. Right now my resume is in so many places I lost count,” she said. “I get calls from some employers, but they are only offering just above minimum wage and are all the way up in Lincolnshire.”

Youngberg is not the only one having poor job search experiences. Megan Yocum is having trouble landing a position as an elementary teacher in the Chicagoland area. Yocum, 23, graduated from Western Illinois in 2010. Before she finished college she started sending resumes to school districts across the suburban Chicago area. So far she’s landed three interviews, but was only successful in being offered a teacher’s aide position in Lombard. Since graduation she’s worked sporadically as a substitute teacher and at a daycare center. Yocum, who currently lives in Glen Ellyn, said the chance of landing a full-time teacher’s position by August is bleak, especially considering each position she’s applied for has received more than 1,000 other applications.

“I have a lot of friends in the same situation. But I feel like every day I’m in the classroom I gain a little more experience and a little more of a leg up for the next position” said Yocum, who started working on a masters degree in education earlier this year.

But not everyone is dissatisfied with their current employment. Twenty-five year-old Allison Milewski of Burr Ridge said she is excited to have found a position in quality assurance.

“A lot of my friends aren’t happy with their current employment situation, but I’m pretty content with my job,” said Milewski, a Cornell University graduate.

Milewski said many of the people she graduated with three years ago have since gone back to college to earn higher degrees in hopes of attaining more desirable employment.

In addition to individuals hoping for a turnaround in the economy, some Chicago area towns are as well. In Burr Ridge’s upscale shopping area known as Village Center, there are many empty store fronts. Village manager Steve Stricker said the economic downturn in 20008 is directly responsible for those empty spaces. But until the economy turns around, Stricker said there’s little the village can directly do to bring in new businesses to bolster the municipal tax roles.

Being a western suburb of Chicago, Stricker said Burr Ridge officials do not focus on subsidizing retail or industrial employers, particularly in years of tight budgets. He said a positive June jobs report will have little positive or negative impact on Burr Ridge.

“We’re a small community. When you look at those numbers it’s hard to equate it to the community and what it means to us,” Stricker said.

Stricker said village philosophy is to maintain a community with strong core services in hopes of creating an environment that is attractive to business interests, such as the on Harvester Drive that could bring 500 jobs to the village.